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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. lean — to bend
  4. lean — thin
  5. tear — from crying
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. tear — to rip
  9. chest — a box
  10. kid — to tease
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. pass — a permit
  14. chip — to eat
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. dip — to sink
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. kid — child
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chip — for betting
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. tear — from crying

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com